TerraPower, the US-based innovation company founded by Bill Gates, has selected US-based Bechtel as the design, licensing, procurement, and construction partner for building a demonstration plant for the Natrium reactor technology.
The move is part of the TerraPower-led proposal for the US Department of Energy’s advanced reactor demonstration programme, which is intended to support the deployment of two first-of-a-kind advanced reactor designs in the next five to seven years.
Bechtel joins a team that also includes GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, PacifiCorp, Energy Northwest, and Duke Energy.
The Natrium system, unveiled in August, features an advanced, sodium fast reactor with a molten salt energy storage system based on those used in solar thermal generation.
…